What Would I Do Without You?
by H. S. Hines
Summary: Kagome is home after a big battle and thinking about mortality. Thankfully, her mom is there to make her feel better. Kinda fluffy, please R&R. Oneshot, complete.


_Disclaimer: Me? Own these guys? Hahahahahahahaha! Oh, I wish._

Rating: PG (for the recent embarrassing 'condition' from gramps)  
Genre: general  
Codes: only in Kagome's head, but Inu/Kag, Koga/Ayame

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**What Would I Do Without You?**

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"You know, sometimes I wonder why there are almost no youkai here when there were so many in the feudal era," Kagome said conversationally through a bite of oden. She certainly didn't expect a response. 

"The cleansing, my dear," Jii-chan happily responded, then popped a pickled plum into his mouth.

"Huh?" Kagome asked. She had once ignored most of what her grandfather said, even when she found out how much was true. However, when he started making up embarrassing maladies for her to come down with as an excuse to miss school, she learned to pay better attention. When she came back this time, he had her missing school because of a bad yeast infection. She had been so embarrassed and angry over this one that she had come home and screamed for almost an hour straight. Finally realizing that he paid as much attention to her ranting as she had to his 'origin' stories a year ago, she informed him, when she was certain that she had his attention, that if he ever used a 'feminine' problem again as an excuse, she was never coming back home. She had been certain she would die of mortification. Thankfully, for once, Hojo hadn't seemed to find out. How Ayumi had was still beyond her, but what Ayumi knew, Eri and Yuka would quickly know, too. She finally talked her grandfather into doing something he should have done a long time ago: giving her relapses of the conditions that never completely went away.

"A few hundred years ago, a large group of miko and priests banned together with several demon slayers to hunt down the reigning youkai and destroy them. They were very thorough. While many still exist, they were forced into hiding. I do not believe there is a living taiyoukai left, although several lesser youkai still exist."

"Like the noh mask," Kagome said, thoughtfully. Then the realization of what that meant for her youkai friends—Shippo and Kirara, Koga, his minions and Ayame… Even Miroku's raccoon-dog, Hachi. All dead. If they had been human, they would have died anyway, but they were youkai and should have lived until her time. Myoga obviously had little time left to him, he was an old flea. There was a small bit of a relief within when she thought that it meant at least her foes, such as Naraku and Sesshomaru were defeated eventually, no matter what. But it was small comfort when she saw Shippo's dead little body in her mind. Or InuYasha… Tears welled up in her eyes and Kagome dropped the hashi in her fingers, food and all.

"Kagome, what's wrong?" her mother asked immediately, dropping her own hashi and reaching for her daughter. Sota froze with a piece of oden halfway to his mouth.

"Sis?"

"If they were all… exterminated," Kagome gasped. "My friends were, too!"

"Youkai are no friends to a mortal," Jii-chan responded, frowning.

"What do you know?" Kagome cried. "Shippo's just a little boy. I don't want him to be killed! And Kirara and I-nu-ya—" Kagome took a breath, "Sha!" she wailed. Her mother hugged her tightly.

"And how do you know InuYasha doesn't end up coming here, dear?" Mama asked. Kagome sniffed. "He can use the well, just like you."

"What about Shippo? And Kirara?" Kagome asked, starting to feel better. She hugged her mama, feeling much younger than fifteen at that moment.

"As Jii-chan said, many of the youkai went into hiding. Didn't you tell me that Shippo was a kitsune? Perhaps he was missed as an ordinary fox," she said, stroking Kagome's hair. Kagome had come home covered in blood this time and her mother knew her spirit was hurting. Mothers know these things. She knew her daughter had faced her own mortality and now she was facing that of her friends. She hated that Kagome ended up in such dangerous situations, but she knew there was a greater purpose for it. She knew her daughter was special, and not just in the ways she always had been.

"Yeah," Kagome whispered, starting to smile. "And Kirara seems to be very much older than we know—maybe she survived, like she always has." Kagome decided that Koga could handle himself and maybe he finally wised up and realized what a good match Ayame was for him. Together, the two must have made a tremendously strong pack. Kagome smiled as she thought of the two of them raising pups. And her mom was right, she would just convince InuYasha to come through the well with her. She sighed with relief. "Thanks, Mama," Kagome said, grinning. Then she wiped away the tears, retrieved her hashi and dove into her favorite food with renewed vigor, her spirit soaring once again. Mama smiled and returned to her food, satisfied her little girl was feeling better. After all, what she wanted more than anything, was for her children to be happy. When they were happy, she was happy. Even when she worried. Even when she was cleaning a scrape or kissing a bruise. If they were smiling, everything was alright. So with Kagome back to laughing at a joke Sota was telling, everything was wonderful.

**_The End._**

_Translations:_

_Hashi: eating utensil commonly called "chopsicks" (I don't like that word, I called them hashi growing up, 'cause that's what they are)  
Jii-chan: Gramps  
Youkai: spirit, monster (commonly translated as 'demon')  
Taiyoukai: greater youkai (such as Sesshomaru)_


End file.
